1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminated wreath and, more particularly, to an illuminated holiday wreath for a motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Decorative wreaths are often displayed during holiday seasons, such as during the joyful Christmas season. Christmas holiday wreaths provide ornamentation which is often illuminated indirectly by using independent lights to shine light onto the wreath. However, indirect lighting systems are often expensive to buy and maintain and are not suitable for wreaths attached to road vehicles. Thus, there is a need for a wreath that does not require indirect lighting and which can be illuminated using a low voltage power source. More specifically, there is a need for a wreath arrangement incorporating a lighting system suitable for attachment to the exterior or interior of a vehicle and which does not place an overburdensome load on a vehicle""s power supply.
Several efforts have been made to address these and other problems. U.S. Design Pat. No. 80,542, issued on Feb. 18, 1930 to Willis H. Shoemaker, shows an illuminated ornament for decorating Christmas trees, windows, and the like. The ""542 ornament is not suitable for mounting on the exterior of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,145, issued on May 14, 1991 to Kent A. Singleton, describes an illuminated display vehicle ornament for mounting inside a vehicle. The ""145 ornament includes a lighting system unable to withstand the rigors of outside use, and more particularly, is not suitable for attachment to the exterior of a motor vehicle.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 437,252 S, issued on Feb. 6, 2001 to Cliff W. Schultz, shows an ornamental design for a Christmas decoration adapted for vehicle use. While the Schultz decoration has electrical lights to directly illuminate the Christmas decoration, the lights are not energized by an alternative energy supply, such as a solar or wind generated electrical power supply. Thus, there is a need for a decorative wreath with a direct lighting system that can be energized by a solar or wind driven electrical power supply.
Other patents showing a wreath or ornament, but which do not solve the above mentioned problems include U.S. Design Pat. No. 140,633, issued on Mar. 20, 1945 to John C. Van Ess, Jr. (a design for an illuminated Christmas decoration); U.S. Design Pat. No. 206,124, issued on Nov. 1, 1966 to Jack Burnbaum (a Christmas ornament or similar article); U.S. Design Pat. No. 340,671, issued on Oct. 26, 1993 to Terrence B. Clark (a light wreath); U.S. Design Pat. No. 356,752, issued on Mar. 28, 1995 to Ronald A. Ritter (a wreath); U.S. Design Pat. No. 371,613, issued on Jul. 9, 1996 to Kay Moore (a decorative lighting fixture); U.S. Design Pat. No. 451,430 S, issued on Dec. 4, 2001 to George Tsai (an ornamental light wreath); and U.S. Pat. No. 2,115,358, issued on April, 26, 1938 to Abraham L. Buschman (a decorative illuminated device).
Further patents showing a wreath or ornament, but which do not solve the above mentioned problems include U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,555, issued on Oct. 31, 1967, to Emidio Di Rico (a multi-colored light ornament construction); U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,035, issued on Mar. 10, 1970 to Charles Franc (an electrified packaging ornament); U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,492, issued on May 24, 1994 to Donald J. Davenport (an illuminated window display ornament); U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,331, issued on Dec. 2, 1997 to James Tipke (a vehicle-mounted advertising sign); U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,652 B1, issued on May 22, 2001 to Chi-Li Tang (a candle lamp decoration); United Kingdom (U.K.) Patent Application No. 180,613, published Jun. 1, 1922 (improvements in or relating to wreaths and wreath cases); and U.K. Patent No. 984,211, published Feb. 24, 1965 (wreath).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is an illuminated vehicle wreath incorporating a direct lighting system combined with one of a variety of alternative power sources, such as a solar panel or wind powered electricity generator to energize the lighting system. The illuminated wreath may be fitted to an exterior or interior of a vehicle, and preferably to a grill of a vehicle using an attachment device, such as one or more ties.
Accordingly, it is a principal aspect of the invention to provide an illuminated holiday wreath with direct lighting adapted for use on or in a vehicle.
It is another aspect of the invention to provide an illumination system to directly illuminate a wreath.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a wreath with an illumination system adapted to draw power via a vehicle""s cigarette lighter.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a wreath in combination with a solar powered lighting system.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a wreath in combination with a wind powered lighting system.
It is an aspect of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.